4
WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT
ACCORDING TO JESUS HIMSELF
Luke 10:25-37
Rev. Paul Wrightman 2/25/24
OUR TEXT THIS MORNING IS BREATHTAKING
IN TERMS OF ITS SIMPLICITY,
AND HEARTBREAKING IN TERMS
OF THE MANY ADDITIONS AND COMPLICATIONS
THAT VARIOUS CHRISTIANS
HAVE MADE TO JESUS'
SIMPLE AFFIRMATIVE RESPONSE
OF THE JEWISH LAWYER'S ANSWER
TO HIS OWN QUESTION:
"WHAT MUST I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?"
ASK A FUNDAMENTALIST
OR EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN
"WHAT MUST I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?",
AND YOU'RE LIKELY TO GET THE RESPONSE:
"THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU CAN GET TO HEAVEN
IS TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR SINFULLNESS TO GOD,
ADMIT THAT, AS YOU ARE,
YOU STAND SELF-CONDEMNED TO HELL,
ADMIT YOUR DESPERATE NEED OF A REDEEMER,
AND THEN ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST
AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR."
ASK A CHRISTIAN IN ONE OF THE MANY
DENOMINATIONS THAT USE
THE APOSTLES’ OR NICENE CREEDS
TO ENCOURAGE AND ENFORCE
UNIFORMITY OF BELIEF,
"WHAT MUST I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?",
AND YOU'RE LIKELY TO GET THE RESPONSE:
“YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE
WHAT IS STATED IN THE CREED.”
IN TERMS OF THE APOSTLES’ CREED,
ONE WOULD BE REQUIRED TO BELIEVE THE FOLLOWING:
“I BELIEVE IN GOD, THE FATHER ALMIGHTY,
CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.
I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST,
GOD’S ONLY SON, OUR LORD,
WHO WAS CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT,
BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY,
SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE,
WAS CRUCUFUED, DIED, AND WAS BURIED;
HE DESCENDED TO THE DEAD.
ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN;
HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN,
HE IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER,
AND HE WILL COME TO JUDGE
THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.
I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT,
THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH,
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS,
THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS,
THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY,
AND THE LIFE EVERLASTING.AMEN.
ASK JESUS HIMSELF THE QUESTION
"WHAT MUST I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?",
AND YOU'LL GET
THE STRAIGHTFORWARD RESPONSE --
A RESPONSE BASED ON THE
TWO CRUCIAL COMMANDMENTS
OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES:
"YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD
WITH ALL YOUR HEART,
AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL,
AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH,
AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND;
AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
NOW, THERE'S NOTHING WRONG
WITH ADMITTING OUR BROKENNESS TO GOD,
OR ACCEPTING JESUS CHRIST
AS PERSONAL SAVIOR,
OR BELIEVING THE THEOLOGICAL PROPOSITIONS
CONTAINED IN THE APOSTLES’ OR NICENE CREEDS.
THESE CAN ALL BE HELPFUL WAYS
OF DRAWING CLOSER TO GOD.
BUT THERE'S SOMETHING TERRIBLY WRONG
IN SETTING UP
THE ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST
AS PERSONAL SAVIOR,
OR AFFIRMING THE CONTENT A CREED
AS TESTS OF ORTHODOXY,
AS THE STANDARD USED TO MEASURE
IF ONE IS REALLY A CHRISTIAN OR NOT.
THE ONLY STANDARD IS THE STANDARD
OF WHAT JESUS HIMSELF SAYS ON THIS TOPIC,
A STANDARD REPEATED
IN THREE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FORMS
IN THE GOSPELS OF MATTHEW, MARK, AND LUKE, (Matthew 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34; Luke 10:25-28)
ALL SLIGHT VARIATIONS ON THE THEME
OF, FIRST, LOVING GOD;
AND THEN, LOVING ONE'S NEIGHBOR AS ONESELF.
AND JUST TO MAKE SURE
THAT OUR DEFINITION OF THE WORD "NEIGHBOR"
IS NOT LIMITED TO PERSONS LIKE OURSELVES,
IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING TODAY'S TEXT
IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE,
JESUS TELLS THE PARABLE
OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN,
IN WHICH HE EXPANDS THE DEFINITION
OF "NEIGHBOR" TO INCLUDE EVERYONE,
EVEN OUR ENEMIES.
LET'S TAKE A CLOSE LOOK
AT OUR SCRIPTURE READING.
(YOU MIGHT WANT TO LOOK AT THE TEXT
AS PRINTED IN YOUR BULLETIN.)
IN VERSE 25, A LAWYER STANDS UP TO TEST JESUS.
IN THE ISRAEL OF JESUS' DAY,
A "LAWYER" WAS A PERSON
WHO HAD RECEIVED YEARS OF TRAINING
IN INTERPRETING THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES,
ESPECIALLY THE PART OF THOSE SCRIPTURES
KNOWN AS THE "TORAH," OR "LAW,"
THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE.
THE LAWYER WANTS TO TEST
THE ORTHODOXY OF JESUS,
AND ASKS THE SEEMINGLY INNOCENT QUESTION
"WHAT MUST I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?"
HE'S HOPING THAT JESUS
WILL "CONVICT" HIMSELF, SO TO SPEAK,
BY DRAWING ATTENTION TO
HIS GOD-LIKE QUALITIES,
AND SAYING SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT OF
HAVING TO ACCEPT HIM AS SAVIOR,
OR HAVING TO BELIEVE
CERTAIN THINGS ABOUT HIM --
SUCH AS BEING THE "SON OF GOD."
NOTE HOW JESUS RESPONDS
TO THE LAWYER'S QUESTION IN VERSE 26:
IN TYPICAL RABBINIC FASHION,
JESUS RESPONDS TO A QUESTION
BY ASKING ANOTHER QUESTION,
IN THIS CASE JESUS ASKS THE QUESTION
"WHAT IS WRITTEN IN THE LAW?
WHAT DO YOU READ THERE?"
THE LAWYER'S RESPONSE IN VERSE 27
DEMONSTRATES THAT HE
KNOWS HIS SCRIPTURE WELL:
HE RESPONDS BY QUOTING A VARIANT
OF THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT VERSE
IN ALL OF HEBREW SCRIPTURE:
"YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD
WITH ALL YOUR HEART,
AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL,
AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH."
(Deuteronomy 6:5)
THE LAWYER ADDS TO THIS
"GREAT COMMANDMENT"
OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES
ANOTHER COMMANDMENT "LIKE UNTO IT"
FROM THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS (Leviticus 19:18):
"YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOUSELF."
SINCE IT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED
THAT JESUS WAS THE FIRST PERSON
TO PUT THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS TOGETHER, THE LAWYER, IN EFFECT,
IS QUOTING JESUS BACK TO HIMSELF,
USING JESUS' OWN WORDS
TO TRAP HIM IF CHOOSES TO EMPHASIZE HIMSELF
IN HIS ANSWER TO THE POINT-BLANK QUESTION
"WHAT MUST I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?"
I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE SEEN
THE EXPRESSION ON THE LAWYER'S FACE
WHEN JESUS SAYS TO HIM IN VERSE 28:
"YOU HAVE GIVEN THE RIGHT ANSWER…”
SO MUCH FOR TRYING TO TRAP JESUS
INTO EMPHASIZING HIMSELF RATHER THAN GOD.
JESUS DOES NOTHING BUT REAFFIRM
THE TRADITIONAL JEWISH UNDERSTANDING
THAT THE HEART AND SOUL OF FAITH
IS THE LOVE OF GOD AND NEIGHBOR.
BUT NOTE THAT JESUS SAYS ONE THING MORE:
"DO THIS, AND YOU WILL LIVE."
HE THEN EXPANDS UPON WHAT IT MEANS
TO DO, TO LIVE, THE LOVE OF GOD AND NEIGHBOR
BY TELLING THE PARABLE
OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN,
IN WHICH A PRIEST AND A LEVITE,
OR "ASSISTANT PRIEST,"
BOTH PASS BY A PERSON
WHO HAS BEEN ROBBED AND SEVERELY BEATEN,
ONLY THE HATED SAMARITAN STOPS TO HELP.
JESUS ENDS THE PARABLE BY ASKING
THIS SAME LAWYER
"WHICH OF THESE THREE
DO YOU THINK WAS A NEIGHBOR
TO THE MAN WHO FELL
INTO THE HANDS OF ROBBERS?" (Luke 10:36)
THE LAWYER HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO ANSWER
"THE ONE WHO HAD MERCY ON HIM." (Luke 10:37)
JESUS ENDS THE CONVERSATION
BY TELLING THE LAWYER: "GO AND DO LIKEWISE."
THE GOSPELS OF MATTHEW, MARK, AND LUKE
REPRESENT THE HISTORICAL JESUS
AS INSISTING THAT IT IS NOT ENOUGH
TO SIMPLY BELIEVE HIS WORDS,
WHAT IS CRUCIAL FOR JESUS
IN MATTHEW, MARK, AND LUKE
IS ACTUALLY DOING, ACTUALLY LIVING OUT
HIS TEACHINGS IN ONE'S OWN LIFE.
THIS IS HOW JESUS HIMSELF DEFINES
WHAT BEING A FOLLOWER OF HIS, OR DISCIPLE,
MEANS.
JESUS DOES NOT DEFINE DISCIPLESHIP
IN TERMS OF BELIEVING THE RIGHT STUFF
ABOUT HIM OR GOD,
BUT IN TERMS OF DOING THE WILL OF GOD,
WHICH JESUS UNDERSTANDS IN TERMS OF
LOVING ONE'S NEIGHBOR AS ONESELF.
OBERY HENDRICKS, JR.
GIVES A POWERFUL EXAMPLE
OF WHAT LOVING ONE'S NEIGBOR LOOKS LIKE
IN HIS BOOK THE POLITICS OF JESUS:
HE WRITES:
"THE KIREKA SLUM
ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF KAMPALA, UGANDA,
IS HOME TO THOUSANDS
OF DEEPLY IMPOVERISHED RESIDENTS,
INCLUDING NUMEROUS REFUGEES
FROM THE DECADES OF LONG CIVIL WAR
IN NORTHERN UGANDA.
THOSE FORTUNATE ENOUGH
TO HAVE A REGULAR SOURCE OF INCOME
IN KIREKA
DERIVE IT ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY
FROM STRIP-MINING ROCKS
FOR CONSTRUCTION PURPOSES.
THE MEN MINE LARGE BOULDERS AND ROCKS,
WHILE THE WOMEN IN KIREKA
BREAK THE MINED ROCKS INTO GRAVEL
WITH HAND-HELD HAMMERS,
BACKBREAKING LABOR THAT EARNS THEM
A MERE $1.20 PER DAY.
YET WHEN THE WOMEN OF KIREKA
HEARD OF HURRICANE KATRINA'S
DEVASTATION OF NEW ORLEANS
AND THE GULF COAST,
IN SPITE OF THEIR OWN POVERTY
AND SLUMLIKE LIVING CONDITIONS
THEY BEGAN A RELIEF DRIVE
FOR KATRINA'S DISPLACED VICTIMS.
DOZENS OF WOMEN ULTIMATELY CONTRIBUTED
OVER 1.6 MILLION UGANDAN SHILLINGS,
OR NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS,
OF THEIR HAND-EARNED WAGES.
THIS WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY GESTURE,
ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE FACT
THAT THESE SAME WOMEN
HAD RECENTLY DONATED A PORTION
OF THEIR EARNINGS
TO THE VICTIMS OF THE TSUNAMI
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA.
WHAT MADE THIS ALL THE MORE EXTRAORDINARY
IS THAT MOST OF THE WOMEN WHO CONTRIBUTED
WERE INFECTED WITH HIV."
(The Politics of Jesus, pp. 109-110)
HENDRICKS ADDS ANOTHER PARAGRAPH
AFTER TELLING THIS STORY,
A PARAGRAPH WHICH CAPTURES
WHAT JESUS MEANS WHEN HE TELLS US
TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS AS OURSELVES.
HENDRICKS CONTINUES:
"ROSE BUSINGYE, THE THIRTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD
UGANDAN NURSE WHO FOUNDED
MEETING POINT INTERNATIONAL,
A RELIEF ORGANIZATION IN KIREKA,
EXPLAINS THAT THE KIREKA WOMEN
BELIEVE THAT 'THOSE WHO ARE SUFFERING,
THEY BELONG TO US.
THEY ARE OUR PEOPLE.
THEIR PROBLEMS ARE OUR PROBLEMS.
THEIR CHILDREN ARE LIKE OUR CHILDREN.'
THEIR MOTTO IS 'ONE HEART,'
WHICH BUSINGYE EXPLAINS,
MEANS 'THE HEART OF HUMANITY HAS NO RACE.
IT MOVES TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING
WHEREVER THERE IS SUFFERING.'"
HENDRICKS CONCLUDES:
"THERE CAN HARDLY BE
A MORE ARTICULATE EXPLICATION
OR A MORE DRAMATIC DEMONSTRATION
OF WHAT IT MEANS
TO TREAT PEOPLE'S NEEDS AS HOLY.
IF, EVEN IN THE MIDST
OF THEIR OWN DIFFICULTIES,
THOSE WHO HAVE EXCEEDINGLY LITTLE
CAN TREAT OTHER PEOPLE'S NEEDS AS HOLY,
HOW MUCH MORE MUST BE REQUIRED
OF THOSE WITH WEALTH AND WORLDLY POWER?"
(The Politics of Jesus, p.110)
MAY GOD FREE US
FROM SUBSTITUTING BELIEFS ABOUT JESUS
IN PLACE OF ACTING LIKE JESUS;
MAY GOD FREE US
FROM SUBSTITUTING THE COMPLICATED,
PROPOSITIONAL TRUTH OF CREEDS
IN PLACE OF THE LIVING TRUTH
OF LOVING GOD
WITH ALL OUR HEART, SOUL, AND STRENGTH,
AND LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR
AS WE LOVE OURSELVES.
AMEN.